AN: So, it's been a while but here's the next chapter. Thanks as always to Maleday who take my extremely rough draft and helps me make it a lot better, (and of course for dealing with my perpetual grammar mistakes). Read and Review and hopefully the next chapter won't take nearly as long!
"I've been teaching at this school for nearly ten years and never before have I come across a situation like this," Professor McPherson said, peering down over her thin black rimmed eye glasses at Rose and Scorpius who were squirming before her. They sat on a small wooden bench in a side room next to the infirmary.
"Do you have any idea what this does to our reputation? As the head of Slytherin house, I have worked so hard to bring us back from those dark days, and now this!" she almost shrieked.
"Professor-"Scorpius started to say before the professor quickly continued. The more she yelled, the more his confusion turned to frustration. Rose just sat next to him in silence, staring at the floor.
"And now first years are going to drag us all back down! I thought you were better than this, Mr. Malfoy, but I guess I was wrong."
"Professor, what are you talk-" Scorpius tried, but was once again ignored.
"Just wait until the headmaster hears about this. You'll both be expelled for sure, after what you've done!"
"Wait, what?" Rose sputtered, her head shooting up as the thought of getting expelled struck instantaneous fear into her heart.
Professor McPherson stop dead in her tracks and whirled around to stare at the young girl who had dared interrupt her.
"What have we done?" Scorpius demanded, taking the opportunity of silence to finally be heard.
"What do you mean, what have you done? Surely you understand the severity of the situation you are in. We do not take things like this lightly. Not lightly at all." She stared incredulously at the children before her, aghast that their utter lack of remorse.
"What situation? What thing are you not taking lightly?" Rose asked, with a slight wobble in her voice.
"Yeah, and why is he here?" Scorpius pointed over his shoulder at Ralph who had followed them the whole way here with an annoying spring in his step. He stood in the back of the classroom with his arms folded and a smirk stretching across his whole face.
His smile faltered a bit when attention was drawn to him, but only for a second. Ralph took great glee in the evident misfortune of the two students who took his place on the quidditch team.
"Well he's the one who saw you, of course. Witnessed what you had done to that poor Gryffindor girl. He reported it to Higgs, who told me," Professor McPherson explained, although it didn't really offer up much information to the two confused students.
"We didn't do anything to any Gryffindor girl. All we did was take a fly around the grounds!" Scorpius exclaimed.
"Scorpius!" Rose screeched at him.
"No, Rose! They're talking expulsion here!" Scorpius turned to the professor. "We can't get expelled for flying around, a couple detentions maybe, but not expulsion!"
He was nearly in tears at the thought. Expulsion would ruin everything. He'd have no chance fixing his family name if he got kicked out of Hogwarts now.
"I'm not referring to some free fly you two had around the grounds Mister Malfoy, but now that you've mentioned it, I'll be sure to look into it, mark my words." Rose groaned at the thought of another detention, but her misery was cut short by what the professor said next.
"I'm referring to you trying to drown your fellow classmate Annabelle Finnigan," Professor McPherson finished.
"Trying to what?" Rose gasped. To think she had been worried about a little rule breaking. Attempted murder was on a whole other level. Rose now understood why the professor was in such a state.
"What I can't fathom is why you two would do such a thing. Did it have something to do with the match earlier? A near miss with a bludger? It's quidditch. You can't go after the beater every time the beaters do what they're supposed to!" the professor scolded.
"Professor!" Scorpius shouted, drawing all eyes in the room to him, "Rose and I have no idea what you're talking about. Yeah, we saw the whole Gryffindor team after the match, but that was because Rose had something personal she had to discuss with her family. We didn't even notice Annabelle there," Scorpius tried to explain quickly. He couldn't understand where anyone got the idea that he or Rose did anything to Annabelle Finnigan.
"Yeah, the last time we saw Annabelle was at the pitch earlier this afternoon," Rose backed Scorpius up.
"Who told you we did anything to her anyway? Zabini? He's had it out for us since the first day! Are you really going to expel us over what he says? He doesn't even have any proof!" Scorpius shouted.
"Proof?" Ralph jumped up from his position against the back wall. "What proof do I need? No one saw either of you after the game and no one saw Annabelle either. And let's not forget about Professor Trelawney said a few weeks back. She predicted that you'd be the death of someone. Then you all disappear and the next thing we know, Alwyn Macmillan is bringing Annabelle Finnigan to the hospital wing saying he found her not breathing by the Black Lake. You don't have to have seen anything to put the facts together. That's not even bringing up the fact that I heard Rose threaten the Gryffindors after the game," Ralph screamed back.
Silence came to the room, and only the labored breathing of the infuriated young boys could be heard. Professor McPherson took in the words that Ralph had just spoken and examined the scene before her carefully.
"Mr. Zabini, do you mean to say that you did not, in fact, personally see both Mr. Malfoy and Miss Weasley attempt to drown Miss Finnigan in the Black Lake like you had previously claimed?" Professor McPherson stared down the boy, who instantly realized his misstep and began to back track.
"It's not that I…Well you see I….No, I didn't exactly…But, aren't we told to trust our Professor? I mean, that divination professor was the one who predicted that the Dark Lord would return and how he would be defeated and all that. Who are we to say she's wrong now? Look at the facts! They both were missing, the girl nearly drowned, and it was by the black lake! Most of the facts fit that prophecy to the letter. I was just trying to watch out for my classmate," Ralph tried to explain, attempting a look of innocence.
"As if you care about anyone other than yourself," Scorpius scoffed, disgusted by Ralph's act.
Professor McPherson shook her head in exasperation.
"Mr. Zabini, those were very heavy accusations to fling at your housemates without any definitive proof. Don't waste my time with unfounded accusations again. Mr. Malfoy and Miss Weasley, you will both be banned from the next quidditch match for your disregard of the rules. If you wanted extra time to fly around the pitch, you should have asked for permission. We will be looking into Miss Finnigan's situation carefully, and if I find out that any of you had anything to do with it…..Well, you better hope that I don't." Professor McPherson left her threat in the air. "You two are dismissed. I want a word with Mr. Zabini alone."
Confused and upset, Rose and Scorpius walked out with bleak looks on their faces. Rose's mind was racing through what she'd just heard, trying to make sense of it all. Scorpius, on the other hand was fuming at the injustice of the situation. Anger coursed through his veins at the thought of losing his chance to play in the second quidditch match of his life, all because Ralph was such a vindictive prick.
When Rose and Scorpius were in the common room of the Slytherin dormitories, Scorpius broke out of his moping and addressed Rose.
"I'm sorry I got us kicked out of the next match," Scorpius apologized.
Rose sighed as she sagged into the dark green couch in the center of the room.
"It's alright. I'm just upset that Ralph won. He nearly got us expelled and he gets to play in the next match. When did he become so ….so cunning?" Rose questioned.
"He's a Slytherin, it was probably always there. But he's not that smart; you still need seven players and with the both of us are cut. He probably won't even be able to play," Scorpius reasoned, sitting next to her.
"So instead he gets the whole team to hate us because we have to forfeit? Yeah, he's a real blockhead," Rose scoffed.
"They won't hate us, or at least not you. I mean you did catch the snitch in the first match and help end the Gryffindor's winning streak. So we can't play Ravenclaw, oh well. We'll win all the points we need in the Hufflepuff match."
"Maybe," Rose conceded, and then attempted to stifle a yawn.
"Alright, it's getting late. See you tomorrow at breakfast?" Scorpius asked before he got up to head towards the boy's dormitories.
"Yeah, I'll see you," Rose said after him.
"So, what happened?" Damian asked before Scorpius even had a chance to fully close the door behind him.
"Ralph," Scorpius said, sitting down on his bed.
"What'd he do this time?"
"Nearly got Rose and me expelled because someone tried to drown Annabelle Finnigan and Ralph told Higgs it was us. When really, all we did was take a fly around the grounds. Now we're banned from the next match all because Ralph has some kid of vendetta against me."
"Oh," Damian, said sitting down across from Scorpius. Scorpius raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Your friend nearly gets me chucked out and all you say is 'Oh'?"
"Well….No one saw you Rose or Annabelle after the match. Then she ends up nearly drowned; it's not such a huge leap," Damian shrugged.
"Ridiculous," Scorpius scoffed and turned over on his side, facing away from Damian.
Damian chewed his lip and stared at Scorpius's back.
"So, Rose got you in trouble again?" Damian asked after a few moments of silence. Scorpius turned back over and sat up.
"No. I got us in trouble. And what do you mean by again?" Scorpius asked, getting defensive.
"Nothing. It just seems like she gets you into trouble a lot, is all." Damian looked away from Scorpius' scrutinizing gaze.
"We got a detention because we were out after curfew when we were lost on our first night here. That's it. I'm the one who said we should fly around, not her. Where is this coming from?"
"Nowhere….. I mean, Ralph just mentioned-,"Damian started.
"Oh, so this is because of something Ralph said? Go figure," Scorpius grumbled.
"He just mentioned that you spend a lot of time with her, that's all."
"So? What are you getting at?"
"Well, what is it with her?"
"We're friends," Scorpius said, trying to figure out where Damian was going with this.
"Are you sure? I mean a Malfoy and Weasley…it just doesn't seem right."
"What? You're friends with Rose. You're even better friends with her cousin Lucy."
"Yeah, but I'm not a Malfoy, and Lucy isn't the daughter of my father's lifelong enemies. Rose can't help you with what you want, Scorpius," Damian tried to explain.
"What do I want?" Scorpius asked.
"What all us Slytherins want. To bring honor, glory, and fame back to our family names. To be proud of who you are and where you come from." Damian said.
"Glory and fame? I think you've been spending a little too much time with Zabini."
Damian sighed with frustration and scratched his head.
"I'm just trying to help you out, Scorpius. Rose might get in the way of some pretty great opportunities." Damian bit his lip again and looked hard at the carpet. Scorpius could see that he wanted to say more, but for some reason he was holding back.
"Whatever, Damian." Scorpius rolled over and breathed deeply. It had been a long day and Damian was acting very strangely. Scorpius didn't have the energy to deal with him anymore.
"Just consider spending a little less time with her," Damian said quietly.
Scorpius gave a noncommittal grunt, but as he started to drift off to sleep, he tried to think of how Rose could possibly be holding him back.
"Well look who it is! Rose Weasley in the flesh," Iris gasped in mock surprise. Rose shut the door to the girls' dormitories and turned to see her two roommates sitting on the floor with a large open book that looked like it had seen better days. Just as Iris noticed that Rose had seen the book she quickly closed it and shoved it under her bed.
"What's that?" Rose asked, wondering why her friends were hiding something from her.
"Just an old keepsake Iris was showing me," Tess answered quickly, not looking Rose in the eye.
"Oh, no one cares about some old book. Tell us what happened with Professor McPherson. I've heard she's such a hard-"
"Nothing," Rose cut Iris off.
"Nothing? You mean you didn't get in trouble for…well, you know? Really?" Tess asked, genuinely shocked.
"We didn't get in trouble for what happened to Annabelle Finnigan because neither Scorpius nor I had anything to do with it. We did get banned from the next quidditch match though." Rose sighed as she sat down on her bed.
"Banned from quidditch? What for?" Iris exclaimed.
"We flew around the grounds after the match without permission. Scorpius just had to bring it up. He must have thought we needed an alibi, so we couldn't be blamed for what happened to Annabelle. I'd have rather drunk Veritaserum than get banned from quidditch, though," Rose grumbled and laid back into her pillows.
"He was just trying to stay out of trouble, Rose," Tess tried to reason.
"Sure." Rose rolled over and turned her back to the other girls. Scorpius may have apologized, but she was just starting to realize what that fly around the grounds had really cost her. Ravenclaw would've been a real challenge, one where her family would've finally seen her real skills as a seeker.
Tess looked to Iris and the two shook their heads at their stubborn roommate.
"There you are." Scorpius woke up to the sound of Damian's voice that cut into the blackness of the room.
"Yeah, Higgs chewed me out after Professor McPherson was done with me," Ralph explained.
"Well, you did nearly get Scorpius and Rose expelled," Damian pointed out.
"So? I did what I had to. If Weasley and Malfoy got kicked out, it would only have been a bonus." Scorpius could hear Ralph's signature smirk in his voice and had to desperately resist the urge to punch him.
"He asleep?" Ralph asked. Scorpius stilled at the acknowledgement.
"He's been out for nearly an hour," Damian said.
"Good. After Higgs chewed me out for getting them banned from next match, he thanked me. Said he understood what I did and why. Said it was good thinking. Now no one knows what really happened with Annabelle."
"Well, yeah but at what cost?" Damian questioned.
"It'll all work out, don't you worry. So how did your little mission go?" Ralph asked.
"Alright. He's thinking about what I said at least."
"Yeah but we'll have to see if he acts on it. Higgs won't let him in until he gets rid of Weasley. None of us can trust that blood traitor." Scorpius gripped his sheets tightly, imaging it was Ralph's throat.
"Ralph, you know he doesn't think about her like that. He just worries because of-"
"Yeah, yeah I know. He'll never have to though because Scorpius won't ever ditch her."
"Yeah you're probably right," Damian conceded.
Scorpius heard the other two boys drift off to sleep as he mulled over what he had heard. His heart dropped as he thought about what he had to do in order to get the answers he desperately wanted.
"Rose, you asleep?" Tess asked quietly in the dark. It was only a few hours after the three girls had all gone to bed.
Rose was about to respond, but before she could speak, Iris' voice sounded out.
"What are you doing?" she asked, sounding still half asleep.
"Shhh! I'm trying to make sure she's asleep," Tess hushed.
At that, Rose stopped herself from making a sound and tried to even her breaths as she attempted to act as if she hadn't woken.
After a few minutes of silence, Rose could hear Tess move out of her bed.
"I have to move the book to better hiding spot." Rose listened carefully as Tess could be heard leaving the room.
"Why? I thought Higgs planned on bringing Rose into the –" Iris whispered a little louder, as she began to wake up a little more.
"Not until he knows we can trust her. He's still not quite sure Rose or Scorpius would keep it a secret."
"I still don't understand why it has to be kept a secret. It's not like we're doing anything wrong. Well besides the first thing."
"Yeah? Tell that to Rose's mother, the Head of the Magical Law Department. Besides the obvious rule we're breaking, I'm sure there are many more laws we'll break by the end," Tess said as she got back into bed.
"Yeah, it's probably for the best. I mean if she turned on Scorpius over a detention, one she probably had equal responsibility for, it probably wouldn't be too hard for her to turn on us."
"Exactly. Higgs didn't even want Ralph to be a part of it, what with all his purist views and such, but Bole and Montague both vouched for him. I do have to admit he hasn't let anything slip yet." Tess had a tone of surprise in her voice.
"Except that he drew and awful lot of attention to himself when he accused Rose and Scorpius of hurting Annabelle."
"He had to do something. The teachers were looking too closely at Alwyn after he couldn't come up with a really good reason for being down by the Black Lake."
"I guess. Well I'm exhausted. Hopefully Higgs won't have another meeting again for a few days at least." Iris yawned.
"Yeah, he acts as if there is a time limit to all this."
Rose heard the rustle of sheets as Tess got back into bed. She scrunched her eyes in confusion as she played back the conversation her roommates just had in her head. She couldn't understand what they were talking about, but whatever it was, she was determined to figure it out.
The great hall was bustling with activity as the news of Annabelle's injuries spread. Luckily, no one besides other Slytherins had heard of Rose and Scorpius's supposed part in it.
Rose sat at the far end of the Slytherin table anxiously awaiting Scorpius's arrival. Breakfast was nearly at an end and she was dying to talk to him about what she had heard the night before. She hadn't been able to speak two words to Iris or Tess, afraid that she might burst out in questions about what they had been talking about.
As she looked toward the entrance for Scorpius for the tenth time that morning, she was startled by a voice behind her.
"Hey Rose are you coming with us to Potions?" Tess asked, Iris at her side.
"No, I'll wait for Scorpius." Rose shook her head.
"Alright, but I think he may be in the infirmary. I saw him in the common room earlier and he looked absolutely dreadful," Iris said.
"Really?" Rose asked with concern.
"I wouldn't worry Rose. In fact, there he is right now." Tess pointed behind Rose.
Rose turned to see Scorpius nervously shuffling by the entrance. He was watching her with an intense gaze but once her eyes met his he looked to the floor.
"Well, we'll see you later Rose," Iris said pulling Tess away.
Rose said nothing in return as she only looked toward Scorpius, watching him. Once the two other girls had left, Scorpius finally walked toward Rose.
"Finally. I've been waiting all morning. There is something I really have to talk to you about-"
"Rose, wait. There's something I have to say," Scorpius cut her off.
"But it's the strangest thing I-"
"Rose, please," Scorpius begged. Rose stopped and looked at him closely. He hadn't sat down, only stood there shifting from one foot to the other, wringing his hands.
"Alright," Rose said.
"I think we should spend less time together," Scorpius said quickly and then winced as if it had physically hurt him to say such a thing.
Rose sat before him, her mouth wide open. Of all the things Scorpius could have said, this was not one she considered.
"What?" She breathed out.
"It's just that…Well, It's getting close to the end of term and I really have to start focusing more on school and ….." Scorpius mumbled a few more words, but Rose couldn't hear what he was saying over the whooshing sound in her ears.
"Okay."
"Okay?" Scorpius stopped rambling and looked at her. She was extremely pale staring away from him.
"Yeah, okay. I understand, really. I'll see you later, Malfoy." Rose got up and walked away quickly.
She wiped at her face as soon as she was past him, stopping the tears that were already starting to well up in her eyes as she rushed off.
Scorpius watched her go and once she was out of the hall he dropped to the bench and put his head in his hands.
The guilt overwhelmed him, and he could only hope that she would forgive him once he was able to explain this all to her.
Rose practically ran all the way to the dungeons. She almost went to Potions when she remembered that she sat next to Scorpius. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to handle the whole class with him right next to her she walked down the hallway to the Slytherin dormitories instead.
She sprinted into her room and slammed the door closed.
First, her roommates were hiding something from her, and then Scorpius, her best friend, no longer wanted to hang out with her.
Rose wiped her face again and then took a few long deep breaths trying to calm herself. It was fine; she didn't need him. Rose knew she could figure out what Tess and Iris were hiding all by herself.
Rose sighed and fell against the door. Her chest ached. Even if she told herself that she didn't need Scorpius, it didn't stop his rejection from hurting so much.
She collapsed to the floor and hug her knees close, not even bothering to wipe the tears that fell down her face.